Arizona Pastors Shocked By Fred DuVal's Opposition to Parental Consent For Young Children

PHOENIX – Yesterday a video surfaced of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal’s appearance at a Gilbert church earlier this week. During the discussion, DuVal told the pastor and his congregation “14-year olds should be allowed to get abortions with no parental consent.”

“Voters have every reason to doubt Fred DuVal’s ability to lead this state when he refuses to allow parents to play an important role in the lives of their own children,” said Robert Graham, Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. “We knew Fred DuVal was nothing more than a liberal lobbyist masquerading as a bipartisan independent, but even we were shocked by his extreme demand to keep parents away from their own children in a time of crisis.”

Following yesterday’s revelation of DuVal’s deeply troubling comments, pastors from across the state joinedDemocratic Representative Catherine Miranda and Pastor Jose Gonzales Q in speaking out in shock to repudiate DuVal’s apathy for parental rights.

“Mr. DuVal’s position to remove parental consent and leave the choice to terminate a life to a minor is beyond reckless,” Pastor Pablo Contreras said. “Regardless of your position on abortion, we cannot possibly leave these types of decisions to our children without the love and support of their family. To even suggest that a minor, much less a 14 year-old, should make this decision on her own represents an extreme view that Arizonans do not and will not support.”

“As a parent, I find it sickening that Fred DuVal doesn’t think I have a right to know if my underage children have an abortion,” Pastor Tirso Rubin, of Tucson said. “This a life-changing decision that a child would be making on her own. It is a parent’s ultimate responsibility to protect our children and Fred DuVal wants to take it away. This shows a stunning lack of judgment. Fred DuVal is wrong for Arizona.”